In Love and War
by Lunahras
Summary: Everybody thinks that the Hero of Konoha must have a pretty easy life. But with a love triangle that's far more complicated than what it seems, a Council completely against the realization of his dream, a Genin team with absolutely no motivation and Sasuke back in the village, Naruto begs to differ.
1. Not an Easy Life

Chapter 1.: Not an Easy Life

Naruto was worn out. Well, if he fought a semi-deadly battle with a person almost as strong as himself, it was to be expected. And Uchiha Sasuke was certainly strong.

He tried to recall why they had even started fighting and immediately regretted it. The memories left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He was annoyed. No. He was angry.

The man standing in front of him, panting and wincing at his minor injuries was one of the main causes for, not only his suffering throughout his life, but also Sakura's. And if there was one thing he could not tolerate, then it was people who made others suffer.

Naruto had believed for years that he could bring Sasuke back and then everything would go back to normal. He had honestly believed that he could preserve their long lost friendship. But after the war, reality had slapped him in the face. Now he realized how naive he had been.

During the years after Fourth Great Shinobi War, he had managed to live a somewhat peaceful life, happily ignorant of his former friend's whereabouts. Even Sakura had started forgetting about him. But then, the last Uchiha came back to Konoha and, after a lot of pestering from the council, who wouldn't miss the opportunity to get one of the village's most powerful bloodlines back, he was allowed by the Hokage to stay and even carry on his career as a shinobi. The guy even had the nerve to treat them all as if nothing had ever happened. As if he hadn't threatened to destroy their home and tried to kill him more times than he could count.

The blond ninja had tried to restrain himself and avoided him every time he could for Tsunade's sake. He knew how hard he job was and he didn't want to make it any more difficult. But that morning, luck wasn't on his side. He had been late for a meeting with the Hokage and, in his hurry, had failed to notice the black haired abomination approaching him. He jumped in surprise, only to get a short lecture about how mediocre his ninja skills still were. Naruto, of course, had tried to end the one-sided conversation as soon as possible, but stopped in his tracks when he heard an insult towards the pink haired kunoichi escape Sasuke's lips. That did it.

He wasn't angry. He was _furious_.

And then he snapped, throwing a punch in Sasuke's direction. All of this then led to the present moment: two badly beat up ninja glaring daggers at each other. But before his opponent could say anything, Naruto disappeared in a bolt of lightning.

"Hmph" was Sasuke's answer.

* * *

Teuchi was happily cooking ramen, when suddenly 'POOF' a man appeared in a flash of orange, who he recognized as his best customer as of yet. Even at the age of twenty-eight he still hadn't stopped regularly visiting his restaurant.

"Hello Naruto. What shall it be today?" he asked, but then noticed the foul mood the man was in, "Hey, is something wrong?"

Naruto snapped out of it and looked around before plastering his usual fox-like smile on his face.

"Didn't think I'd end up here. I'll have a beef ramen." he said, purposely ignoring the last question, his past fight forgotten.

The old man blinked before getting to work, only to be interrupted yet again by the same person, "Hey, old man. Where's Ayame? She's normally here helping you out."

"Oh, she went out earlier today. Said she'd spend the day with this Akimichi guy. His name's Chouji. They've been out together so often in the past four months, I'm beginning to wonder when he's going to propose to her."

Naruto's jaw almost dropped to the floor, "What?! Since when? I didn't know! I swear he never tells me the important stuff, dattebayo!" In the past ten years, after Shikamaru had started neglecting his friend, he and Chouji had grown quite close to the point where they considered each other good friends. Still, sometimes the Akimichi head left him in the dark about certain subjects, not because he didn't trust him, but because he simply forgot to tell.

Suddenly, he felt the ominous chackra he had fought against just minutes ago nearby, '_Dammit, that bastard. Is he following me or something?'_ His thoughts were interrupted by another source of chackra right beside the first, _'Sakura? What's she doing with the moron?' _He then proceeded to do a mental facepalm, knowing that she had probably caught sight of the idiot and was now fussing over him. Although in the past years she had let go of her love for the Uchiha prodigy little by little, she still hadn't given up on him, proven by the fact that she was still all over him almost all the time, if not slightly more hesitant than before. _'God, she's even more persistent than me.'_

He was snatched out of his thoughts when a black haired ninja in a green leotard touched his shoulder to get his attention. "Hokage-sama sent me for you. She said to tell you that you're late."

Naruto just stared. Late? Late for what? And then it hit him. His eyes widened, "Oh, crap. The meeting! The old lady's gonna kill me!" and with that, he disappeared in a flash of lightning for the second time that day.

_'Hiraishin? Must be an important meeting'_ thought Lee, knowing how sparingly the blonde used the technique outside of battle.

Soon enough, he also sensed the two presences that the man standing there before him had sensed. As curiosity took the best of him, he decided to investigate.

* * *

Just as Naruto had predicted, the second best medic nin of Konoha_ was_ all over her life long crush. She was currently trying to convince him to let her heal his wounds, without success.

"Sasuke-san, they'll scar if they don't get treated now. How did you even get them? We aren't under attack nor were you on any missions lately, as far as I know of." Sasuke-_san_. Not Sasuke-_kun_. Indeed, the trust necessary to call him what she had many years ago was long gone. Although her love still prevailed, she had noticed herself how she became more hesitant every day that passed, and his cold attitude towards her didn't exactly help. She recognized that feeling. It was hopelessness. The same thing she had felt the first time he left. And even when he came back, they had only grown more distant. Even her inner self had already given up any hope, but her outer, softer self still clung to a last ray of hope, and it didn't want to let go of it just yet.

"Sakura, don't." she looked up to find his onyx eyes looking directly at hers.

"But you're full of wounds, and-" she was cut off by his deep voice.

"I'm not talking about that." he sighed, "I've honestly tried to tell you subtly and gently, but it seems I have to be blunt if I want to get my point across."

"Huh?" she asked, confused, but also fearing that she knew where this was going.

"I don't feel attracted to you. I don't like you. I never have and probably never will. In fact, I dislike you quite a lot. So do me a favor and stop following after me." He looked away, "That's it."

No. No. He couldn't say that. He couldn't do this to her. After all these years...she loved him, for goodness sake! She wouldn't accept it. She didn't want to accept it. This was too much. She couldn't take it any longer.

So much for the last ray of hope.

A single tear left her now widened eyes, slightly softening her shocked expression. Sasuke could see a thousand emotions running through her eyes at the same time: from sadness, to anger, to despair. And then she ran. She ran faster than ever before, her hot tears running down her cheeks, leaving a heavily sighing Sasuke behind, and ignorant of the pair of very round, very angry and very worried eyes that had witnessed most of the exchange.

* * *

"God, you're worse than Kakashi sometimes!" said Tsunade, sitting down. That was the last line of the _very_ long rant about responsibility that she had made Naruto sit through right after he arrived at her office. By then, all his wounds had already healed, though he was still wincing at the pain in his ears. He waited a moment to make sure she wasn't about to say anything else, then spoke himself, "So, what did you want to talk to me about, Hokage-sama?" He had stopped calling her 'Tsunade-baasan' in public or when talking about business around the age of twenty-two, knowing fully that the Hokage had an image to keep and a subordinate calling her that wouldn't make it any better. Instead, he used the more formal 'Hokage-sama' and saved his personal nickname for her for personal meetings. He did have to admit that it slipped through when he got angry or exited, though.

She sighed- and then smirked. That was not good. Her smirks always meant something bad was going to happen. "As a part of your training for becoming Hokage," she paused, savoring the moment, "I have assigned you one of the newly graduated genin teams. Team four."

He blinked at her. It took a while for his brain to absorb the information, but then, "WHAT?! Why?"

She turned serious, "Because these three are very special children and you are the best suited to be their instructor."

At this, he sobered up. He? The best suited? Well, then those were some special kids indeed. "Who are they?"

She pointed at three folders lying on her desk. He grabbed the first one and opened it. As he skimmed trough the text and looked at the picture, his eyes widened, "He had a son?!"

"He probably had around thirty, all of different ages. This one was just lucky enough to end up here."

The jinchuuriki looked at her, then grinned, "Heh, it'll be like teaching my own teacher." he said with a slightly malevolent undertone.

"Just don't get too carried away." a small smile formed on her lips.

Naruto then proceeded to take the second folder. "Nii Yugito's daughter, huh? The one we rescued from Obito, right?" he looked up, "This is a pretty risky gamble."

The blonde woman grinned from ear to ear at hearing the word gamble, "Yes, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. She might have inherited part of Mitataba's chackra. If that's the case, then you are the best choice to teach her how to use it properly."

He nodded, then grabbed the third and last folder. He raised an eyebrow after reading it. "Uzumaki? I don't remember ever having children. Does that mean he's Karin's son?"

"Yes. She named him after his father, although not many know who he is and I plan to keep it that way."

His eyes went back to the name and then widened. "So, his father's-"

"Yes, he is." She looked at him sternly "And that's why I want you as his teacher."

He looked confused, "I don't get it."

"Naruto, think. Use that brain Kami blessed you with. This child has _both_ Uzumaki and Uchiha blood. There is a high posibility that he will develop _it_."

At first he looked shocked, then even more confused, "And how am _I _supposed to help him? It's not like I know how to use those freaky..._things_. I can't even teach him how to use the Sharingan!"

"But out of all the shinobi of Konoha, you have the most experience with it. Plus, you know _exactly_ what they do and how they work. You don't have to worry about his Sharingan. When the time comes, Kakashi will teach him how to use it. There's no excuse for you to say no."

Naruto sighed in exasperation, "Maybe I just don't _want to_?"

"Naruto." she said, threateningly.

"Ok, fine. I'll do it. Just don't go regretting it afterwards. So, when am I supposed to meet them?"

The woman looked at the clock on the wall "Hmm. Around thirty minutes ago."

"And you tell me that _now_? I can't believe this!" And with that he left the office, not waiting for her to dismiss him.

She smiled wryly, "I'm sure I won't regret it."

* * *

Ino was at her home, sitting on the couch with a puffy eyed, sleeping Sakura lying right beside her. She had been cleaning the house when the doorbell rang. The sight that that awaited her behind the door was that of her pink haired best friend crying her eyes out. After fifteen minutes of trying to calm her down, she finally managed to get the story out of her in a halfway understandable language.

She sighed. She had already long ago given up on Sasuke and, instead, tried out dating other guys, mainly Shikamaru. When the Uchiha survivor had returned, she had been deeply confused, which ended up on her dumping her boyfriend. She had been alone ever since.

That's why the blonde kunoichi could not understand why Sakura still was so attatched to him. Maybe it was really love that had faded with time. Maybe she was was just overly obsessed. Either way, she knew Sakura wouldn't be approaching the guy any time soon. Actually, she probably wouldn't go near him at all. She knew because beneath all the grief and anger, she had caught a glimpse of another feeling within her.

Sakura had given up. And this time, for good.

* * *

"Where _is_ the guy? He should've been here half an hour ago!" exclaimed a red haired kid.

As if to answer his question, a spiky, blond head poked out of the door, the rest of the body emerging afterwards. The man sat down on the desk and turned to their teacher, "Hey, Udon. You can leave now. I'll take care of these three."

The brown haired Chuunin looked puzzled, but then his expression changed to shock, "_You_'re their instructor? Oh man, this will be interesting." he chuckled, "Well, as much as I'd _love_ to stay and watch, I've got stuff to do. Have fun with the test."

Naruto grinned evilly, "I will." He watched as his former apprentice's friend left the room, then turned to the three kids sitting in front of him, "Hello!" he said with his trademark smile replacing the evil grin of moments ago.

"You're late." was the only reply he got from the girl who was narrowing her eyes and glaring at him.

He just ignored her and continued speaking, "As you may have already found out, I am your new Jounin instructor. Since from now on we're a team, we should get to know each other, so let's start with an introduction. I'll go first: My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I hate a certain man. My hobbies are none of your business and my soon to be fulfilled dream is to become Hokage. You may refer to me as Naruto-sensei. You're next." he pointed at the boy leaning on the wall to his right.

The boy had spiky, white hair, which partially hid his newly acquired hitai-ate, and dark brown eyes. His skin was slightly darker than his teammates' and his face was surprisingly handsome. He wore a black shirt with elbow length sleeves and a blue vest on top. His kunai holder was attached to his right leg, causing a slight bulge on the loose, gray shorts. His visible extremities were covered in fishnet cloth.

"I'm Sakasani Yuki. I like pretty girls. I don't really enjoy the idea of becoming a ninja." This earned him a raised eyebrow from his new teacher, which he ignored. "My hobby is reading and I don't have any important dreams as of yet."

"Now you." Naruto pointed at the girl who had pointed out his tardiness. Her dirty blond hair was tied with a bandage, while her front hair hid the right half of her face, but her hitai-ate was placed in a way that the leaf symbol was still visible. Her visible, green eye was sharp and spoke of intelligence. She had a purple blouse partially covered by a long, white, short sleeved jacket, both tied together by a lavender rope. Below the blouse, she wore a blue skirt, slitted on the sides, with a pair of leggings underneath that went until her knees. Her kunai holder was strapped to her right leg and her sandals went over her ankles.

"My name is Nii Shizuka." she spat out the name as if it had a bad taste to it, "I like cats. I hate everything that has to do with the Akatsuki organisation. I don't really have a hobby, nor do I have a dream or ambition."

Naruto didn't even have to point at the remaining member of the team. He started speaking on his own, "My name's Uzumaki Itachi" he said, directing a big grin to his teacher. He was starting to annoy the blonde. "I love dumplings and I don't like my hair. My hobby is acting. I guess I don't have a dream either." He shrugged.

Naruto took his time to study him while he spoke. His skin was pale, a big contrast to his vivid red hair, which was perfectly straight on one side and stood out at all angles on the other. On the front, it framed his sharp face and accentuated his black eyes. He wore a simple dark red jacket and black pants, which were tucked into the bandages wrapped around his lower legs. A dark purple scarf was hanging loosely from his neck and his kunai holder was hugging his left leg tightly.

_'I can see that they have a motivation problem.'_ thought Naruto after having heard all three introductions "Great. Now that we've got to know each other a little better I can finally tell you how screwed you are."

Their faces were priceless.

"What do you mean?" asked Yuki.

His grin got bigger, "If you want to keep your status as a Genin, you will have to pass a test-"

"Another test!" exclaimed Itachi. Indeed, he was very annoying. The newly appointed teacher hit him on the head, "Itai!"

"Don't interrupt me. Anyways, as I was saying, this test has very low success rate and normally only a third of the Genin from the Academy are able to pass. If you fail, you'll be stripped of your hitai-ate and sent back to the Academy." at this threat, even Shizuka paled. Naruto took a second to savor the moment. "To take it, meet me tomorrow at eight on the training ground No. 6."

"And what is this test?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"That" his grin turned evil yet again "I will tell you tomorrow."

"What?! Why?" Itachi's tone indicated outrage. This earned the Genin yet another painful bump on his head.

Naruto glared daggers at him, "Because I say so." turning to the other two, he calmed down, "Until tomorrow." And with that, he disappeared in a little cloud of smoke.

Yuki stared at the spot where their sensei had been standing just moments before, "Oh boy."

* * *

One trip around town and quite a bit of sake later, Naruto was sitting with his former teacher, Hatake Kakashi, in a bar, talking about his new genin team.

"Tell me, Kakashi, was I really that annoying when I was little?" he asked, hoping that he would prove his suspicions wrong.

"No, Naruto. You were ten times worse."

The blond ninja winced, "I am so sorry, Kakashi-sensei! I am really, truly sorry. I was a young, stupid brat. Is there anything I can do to make up for all those years of suffering?"

Kakashi looked like he was about to explode with laughter, "You could start by paying for the next round."

And so he did. And he deeply regretted it afterwards. The silver haired man started talking of women, and love and other things Naruto managed to tune out before they reached his brain. _'Oh man. He's in his Icha Icha mode. I shouldn't have bought that last round of sake.'_ He groaned when he saw the man pulling out an orange book. To his great relief, a kunai cut Kakashi off in the middle of his rant and both of them turned around to see a very annoyed Anko.

"Why do you always have to read that crap in public? Don't you have a single drop of shame in you? You pervert."

Naruto mentally answered her question. No, he didn't have a single drop of shame in him.

Looking at the Jounin's outraged expression (or at least what was visible of it) he knew that an all out argument about morals was about to begin and he honestly didn't want to get pulled into another one of Kakashi and Anko's bickering battles. He used the moment of distraction and sneaked out of the bar before anyone could notice his absence at the table.

No, his life was certainly not easy.

* * *

Author's Note:

Omigosh! this is the first chapter of my very first fanfic, yay! ok, just to clear some things up: Nii Yugito is the name of the nibi (two-tails) jinchuuriki, the one Hidan almost killed, and Mitataba is the name of the nibi. Oh and I know this has way more teenage drama than it should have cause they're all around 28 or something, but meh, who cares.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading it more than I enjoyed writing it :3


	2. Brilliant Little Brats

Chapter 2.: Brilliant Little Brats

Shizuka loved meditating. Having been raised by a man who only saw her as a weapon, meditation had been her only escape from her harsh reality. It filled her with a feeling of peace and safety which she knew she wouldn't be able to get in the outside world. She had arrived at their meeting place for the test an hour early and had been meditating ever since. Until an obnoxious voice broke through her concentration, "Hey, Shizuka-chan."

She groaned. She knew that voice. She could already imagine the white haired boy approaching her. Not only that, but she also knew the tone he was using. It was the same tone he had used the day before, when he had (very persistently) tried to get her to go out with him. She didn't even know why he had asked. They barely even knew each other!

"Hey, Shizuka-chan." he repeated "If you don't have anything to do after this, would you like to go out w-" but he was interrupted before he could finish the sentence.

"No." she said bluntly.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I'm not interested." blunt yet again.

"But-"

"No."

He glared at her for a moment before walking away and leaning against a tree, his attitude much like it had been yesterday when their teacher had finally arrived. Honestly, she liked him better like this. _One_ overly cheerful idiot was more than enough, thank you very much.  
_'Speaking of the devil' _ she thought when she saw a red head poke out of the bushes. "Ohayoo Yuki-san, Shizuka-san." he said, an impossibly big smile plastered on his face. The first just grunted while the girl nodded in response. "Is Naruto-sensei here yet?" he asked.

"Do you see him anywhere?" replied Yuki in an unnecessarily rude tone.

Itachi looked around, "Hmm, I guess not. Then I'll just have to sit down and wait."

"Don't make yourself too comfortable." Said a blond shinobi, emerging from the trees and walking up to the three kids from behind.

"Gyah!" the boy cried out, "Sensei, don't scare us like that!" And, indeed, his two teammates did look pretty startled at their teacher's sudden appearance.

Naruto turned serious for a moment, "Ninja must always be ready for anything, no matter what. Expect the unexpected. Consider this your first lesson."

"Wait. Was this the test?" asked Shizuka.

"What? No way! This is way too boring to be the test. No fun at all!" he shook his head, grinning, "No. Your test will be a lot more fun."

"Really? It's gonna be fun?" asked the redhead excitedly.

"I don't think his definition of 'fun' matches yours, Itachi-san." said the blonde female.

Naruto just smirked, knowing that what the girl had said was perfectly true. But then, remembering the test, he reached into his pockets and pulled out three little silver bells, each tied to a cord.

Recognition sparked in Itachi's eyes, "I know this one! My mom told me once. She said that you have to get the bells from the instructor before the time is up. And if you don't, you don't get lunch."

"You're partly right. But no, we won't be doing that. I'm not as sadistic as _my_ teacher, after all. No, _we_'ll be doing the slightly easier, opposite version of what you said. Each of you gets a bell." with that, he threw a bell at each of his students, "You have thirty minutes to develop any plans you can think of and put them to use or prepare them. When the thirty minutes are over, I will come and hunt each of you down in order to get the bells. From that moment onwards, there will be a time limit of forty-five minutes. If you manage to hinder me from getting them until the time's up, you pass. If not, you fail. Simple as that. Any questions?"

At seeing no hands up or mouths open, he smiled. "Well, then...GO!" And the three of them disappeared into the forest of the training ground.  
_'I've high expectations. Let me see what you've_ _got_.' he thought as he sat down and started counting the minutes.

* * *

Ino didn't know what to do, so she just sat outside the room while Tenten spoke with Sakura. She had called her earlier that day because she was at her limit and needed help handling her depressed friend. Her first choice had been Tenten, though she knew that being rejected by the love of your life wasn't exactly the same as _losing_ the love of your life, but it was close enough.

She knew Tenten loved Neji, and she knew it had hurt her heart deeply when he died at the war. That's why she thought that the weapon master could relate better with her best friend than she herself. It made her feel helpless, but it was better than watching Sakura drown in sorrow.

Now, what she_ did not_ like, was that they had made their way into the bathroom and she hadn't heard from them for two hours. It was totally infuriating not knowing what was going on in her own bathroom. Finally, the door opened and out came a sight that made her draw a sharp breath. Sakura's bubblegum hair that had grown quite long in the past few years, was now so short that the tips only reached a bit lower than the nape of her neck and had started to form slight spikes here and there. Only the bangs on both sides of her face had retained their original length. "A _haircut_? _That'_s what you two were doing in there?" she sighed in exasperation, "Nothing a little more original?"

Sakura just grinned, which startled her. She looked at Tenten, hoping to find an answer, only to be greeted with yet another grinning face. _Now_ she was confused. What the hell was wrong with these two? The thought crossed through her head that maybe calling Tenten hadn't been the best idea, but she quickly dismissed it, seeing how the pink haired kunoichi's mood had changed dramatically.

"What, you have a new self or something?"

"Exactly." replied the formerly depressed woman in a confident tone. "I'm a new Sakura and I _am_ gonna get over him."

Ino looked back to the brunette miracle worker, "What did you _do_ to her?"

Said brunette winked, "Just a little trick I learned when I was going through similar phase. Nothing much."

The blonde sighed. _'A magician never reveals his secrets.'_ she reminded herself, _'Oh well. At least she's better.'_

* * *

"...Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine and sixty. Well, the thirty minutes are up. Time to hunt down my cute little students." said Naruto as he stood up from his sitting position. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." a smirk crossed his lips while he placed a small alarm clock on the ground that would ring after the forty-five minutes had passed. The muscles in his legs tensed up and he jumped to the trees.

Tracking the three unofficial Genin proved to be slightly more difficult than he had expected, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Still, he was impressed. And relieved. At least they had stealth down. Once he found fresh tracks, he slowed down and examined the area more carefully. They may only have been brats, but he had already realized it: these brats were dangerous. Each of them possessed incredible talent as ninja.

Suddenly, he heard some rustling to his left and turned around to face the source of the noise. Standing a few meters away was the redheaded source of all annoying moments in his life. Ok, maybe not in his life, but at least in the last two days. It wasn't that big of an exaggeration anyways, right?

"I will defeat you before you can get my bell!" yelled the boy.

_'That's his solution? And here I thought he actually had a brain.'_ but something from this scene seemed slightly...familiar. And then it hit him. He had done the exact same thing on his test. He groaned. Now the kid was not only reminding him of how annoying he had been at his age, but also of how _incompetent _he had been. Now he was angry.

Itachi threw a punch at him followed by a kick to his head, both of which he dodged easily. Landing back on the ground, he kicked at his stomach, but his ankle was caught before he could land the blow.

And suddenly he was sent flying to a tree. The boy was quick to respond as he changed his position in the air so that his feet would meet the wood. Using the momentum, he pushed himself off the tree and flipped in the air, planning to land safely. Unlucky for him, his teacher had clearly seen this opening and had sent a kick to greet him. How nice of him. Not.

Using an advanced chackra sensing ability that he had inherited from his mother, he saw that the leg coming at him was also enhanced with chackra, making it potentially deadly, _'Is he trying to kill me?!'_

_'Indeed.'_ thought Naruto, reading his student's expression perfectly. Well, maybe not _kill_ him, but he wanted to make it hurt. Badly. But then, something unexpected happened. He saw a flash of a greyish purple in the boy's eyes while he desperately tried to block his kick and felt the extra chackra being sucked out of his leg. He knew that feeling. He had felt it many years ago when he had fought Pein. The kick still sent him flying in the desired direction, just not as forcefully as he had expected with the boost. _'Interesting.'_

"Lesson number two" He walked over to the wincing boy and picked up the silver bell lying on the ground next to him "If your job is defending and protecting, don't attack." he smirked, throwing the small bell in the air and catching it again "Unless your victory is guaranteed, that is."

"Lesson number three: Good stealth is important." he then threw a shuriken at some bushes to his right, which nailed itself to a tree a little farther away, a bell hanging from its tip, "But if you see your downfall approaching, don't just stay still and await it; _do_ something to prevent it." he walked over to the tree, taking both the shuriken and the bell, and turned around to see a startled-looking Yuki.

"Lesson number four" he threw the same shuriken at an almost invisible cord hovering a couple of inches over the ground, cutting it. A barrage of kunai flew at a spot some meters above the cord, continuing their flight when they met nothing. "Traps are good, but never forget lesson number five-" he was interrupted when a kunai stabbed his heart. But instead of dropping dead, as the owner of the knife had expected, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Behind Shizuka, the Jounin seemed to literally emerge from the trunk of a tree, "Always pay attention to your surroundings." she turned around, startled, only to be kicked out of the bushes that had served as her hiding spot. When she looked up, she saw a third bell in her teacher's hand.

"Got the last one." a loud ringing sound echoed through the woods, "And just in time too." he sighed "Seriously, I spend my precious time thinking of a way to make this easier for you than it was for me, and you still manage to mess it up. I mean, there weren't even any mind games; the answer was clear as day! But I guess I'll have to fail y-" he stopped talking when he saw the smirk on the girl's face. At first he was puzzled, but then he looked back at the bells he was holding and raised his free hand, forming a seal "Kai!" releasing the Henge, he watched as the bells turned into acorns, then looked at the three kids standing before him. "It takes quite a lot of intelligence and skill to outmaneuver a Jounin like that." a smile formed on his lips, "Show me the real ones." At that, Itachi pulled three silver bells out of his pocket. _'I see. So their plan consisted of distraction and underestimation. They made me think they were working separately, but had actually teamed up and made a plan. Not half bad.' _the smile grew into a grin.

"Congratulations. You pass. The three of you are now officially Genin."

"Yeah man! I'm good!" exclaimed the hyperactive nuisance.

"Shut up. It was Shizuka-chan who thought of the plan, not you." retorted his teammate.

"Yeah? Well, at least I actually did something! Unlike you."

"Why you little-"

"Shut up!" they turned to look at their Jounin instructor, "Jeez, can't you even try to act as a team for five more minutes? Well, anyways, meet me the day after tomorrow by the big oak on the town square, same time as today. From there, we'll go to the Hokage's office to get your first mission. Understood?"

"Why not tomorrow?" asked Shizuka.

"Because tomorrow's my birthday and I'd like to have the day free. Got a problem with that?" She shook her head. "Good. You're dismissed."

As the red haired Genin prepared to leave, he was stopped by Naruto's voice, "Except you, Itachi." He watched his teammates leave before turning around and facing his teacher. Something in his tone felt off. His apparently permanent cheerfulness was absent.

"Yes, Naruto-sensei?" he asked, serious for once, which surprised the blond. However, he suddenly snapped out of it and went straight to the point.

"That kick you blocked when we were fighting, it should have sent you flying much farther away than it actually did, maybe even broken one or two ribs. Instead, it only had the effect of a normal kick. What did you do?"

This took him by surprise, "I...I don't know." And he honestly didn't, "I just felt a sudden surge of power, but it was gone as quickly as it came."

_'Hmm. So he doesn't know yet. Maybe I should clear things up. After all, I'm almost completely sure that it is what I think it is.'_ "Itachi, do you know about the Sage of six Paths?"

"Huh? What's this all of sudden?"

"Just answer the question." he said, a bit annoyed.

"Uh, yes. He was supposedly the first shinobi and possessed some weird doujutsu. But he's only a myth."

Naruto shook his head, "No, he was as real as you and me; and that doujutsu is called Rinnegan. Not only that, but there are two clans that are said to be his descendants: The Uchiha and the Senju. Itachi, do you know who your father is?"

At this, he lowered his gaze, "Yeah, he was Uchiha Itachi."

"Yes. And did you also know that the Uzumaki are the descendants of the Senju?" when Itachi shook his head, the blond continued, "It's said that when the blood of the two clans mix, the inheritance of the Sage, the Rinnegan, will manifest."  
He paused a moment to let the information sink in.

"W-wait. You mean that I...the doujutsu...I...you think I have the Rinnegan?!" he sounded bewildered, and not without reason.

"It's quite possible, yes. In fact, I can prove it. That little trick you pulled off? It was the Preta Path, one of the six Paths of Pain and an ability of the Rinnegan. It allows the user to absorb chackra and render many ninjutsu useless."

"How do you even know all of this?"

Naruto's eyes became distant and he smiled sadly, "My senpai used to have those eyes. I got to know them while fighting him and deepened my knowledge with research."

"He did? Well, maybe he could teach me how to use them!" he said excitedly.

The Jounin chuckled quietly, "Sorry to blow your bubble, but he died before you were even born."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"'s ok, kid. It's not your fault." he smiled encouragingly, which managed to cheer the boy up.

"So, how _do _I use them?"

"That's something we'll have to find out."

They remained silent for a while, until Naruto broke the silence, "Hey, kid. I keep asking myself why Karin and Itachi would have a son. Did your mom ever tell you how that happened?"

"She's told a few times. Every time she makes it sound more dramatic." he smiled sheepishly.

The blond nodded, "Sound like something Karin would do."

"Well, she said she first met my dad when she was working under some man called Oro...Oroshimero or something, and he was in this weird organisation. I think Shizuka-san mentined it yesterday."

"You mean Akatsuki." replied Naruto, who was still trying to muffle a laugh at the boy's failed attempt to pronounce the Sannin's name.

"Yeah, that." said the ever ignorant redhead, "Anyways, at first they were friends, but afterwards they fell in love with each other. Quoting my mom: _But we realized that our passionate love wasn't possible and, after a long and painful farewell, we parted with heavy hearts._" he said, imitating his mother's voice perfectly, "Mom and her need for drama. Well, after that, her boss died. Then, she found a sort of second rate replacement for my dad, I think it was his brother, and started working under him." the blond couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. After a few minutes, Itachi was urged to continue, and so he did, "Right. This guy then had a deadly fight with a member of this Akatsuki thing and was out for a few days afterwards. This gave mom a little free time. Suddenly, she met my dad yet again at the town they were staying in. He invited her over to the room he had rented at an inn to have some tea and talk things over. He explained that he was going to challenge his brother and let him kill him, and asked my mom not to interfere. After that it was less talk and more...well, they...they sorta...made me." He blushed, remembering the details his mother had included in her tale and the mental images he would never be able to rid himself of. "After she confirmed my dad's death, she left the tiny organization but was caught by Konoha soon after. She was spoken free of charge at her trial because there wasn't any evidence of her treason to the shinobi world, but ended up staying here anyways. And that's pretty much it."

"Sounds like a tragic tale." said Naruto.

Itachi shrugged, "I guess. Hey, Naruto-sensei, can I go now? Mom will get mad at me if I skip lunch."

The teacher chuckled, "Sure, you can go." He watched as his student prepared to leave, "But, Itachi, don't tell anyone about the Rinnegan just yet."

"Hai." and he left.

* * *

Hinata was happy. She was preparing herself for Naruto's arrival. In the last few years, he had made it a habit to visit her at least once a week, be it for training, or just to talk over a cup of tea. Today was one of those days, the reason: sparring.

She watched as said man entered the Hyuuga compound, followed by another younger, brown haired man. _'So he brought Konohamaru this time.'_ She wasn't disappointed that they wouldn't be alone, she just didn't know what the blond's former apprentice would be doing while they sparred. Her thoughts were interrupted by the energetic voice she so loved.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" he said, his trademark grin on his face.

"Hinata-san, hi." said the brunette, with a smile that almost made him look like the sun standing beside him. Almost.

"Hello, Naruto-kun, Konohamaru-kun." she said and turned around to lead them to the Hyuuga's private training ground, but she was stopped when she almost walked into her sister.

"Ah. Hinata-neesan, I'm so sorry." said Hanabi.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention. Don't worry about it." she smiled at the woman in front of her. Hanabi had grown a lot in skill in the past few years, but she had also adopted quite a few of her sister's gentle ways, making her strict but polite. These traits made her the best candidate for the position of clan head, which she would claim in a few years instead of her sister. It wasn't that Hinata wasn't good enough for the job. In fact, she was more skilled than the future clan head. She just didn't feel like she would serve well as a leader. Another reason was that the clan head wasn't allowed to marry outside of the clan, and she wasn't about to give up on her love just yet.

"Hey, who're you?" asked the energetic brunette.

"Why should I tell you?" said the white eyed woman, lapsing back to her rude demeanor. The reason why she still wasn't fit to be a leader: she was a little immature for her age and tended to forget her manners when she got annoyed. And a person not knowing who she was certainly hurt her ego.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

This infuriated the man, "I challenge you to a match! If I win, you'll tell me your name!"

"And what if I don't accept?"

He smirked, "Oh, I can see why you wouldn't accept. You're afraid that I'll beat you to a pulp. You're just a woman after all."

Hanabi looked him directly in the eyes, "What was that?"

Hinata tried to stop the argument before it went out of control, "Konohamaru-kun, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Oh, nothing. I was just stating the fact that you're just a weak woman." he said, ignoring the other woman's futile attempt at warning him.

The other participant of the argument walked up to him, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Could you speak a little louder?" her voice was dripping with anger.

"Konohamaru-kun-"

"You. Are. Weak."

Hanabi just grinned from ear to ear. She tensed her muscles as she whispered, "And you're dead meat."

And she attacked.

* * *

Naruto was walking home after a very tiring day. Trying to separate the two ninja so that she wouldn't kill Konohamaru had proved a difficult task and had taken up most of the afternoon, leaving almost no time left for sparring afterwards.

In the end, they just had enough time to sit down and talk for a while. They talked about his new Genin team and their utter lack of motivation. She had said that he should help them find a goal in life so they would pursue it and grow stronger in the process, and he had taken her advice by heart, knowing how right she was. When he had been about to leave, she had said that she wanted to do something special for his birthday and had invited him for dinner at a restaurant she knew.

Naruto smiled. Tomorrow would be a good day.

* * *

Author's note:

Second chapter! yay!

Will Knonohamaru confess his undying love for Hanabi? Will Karin manage to make her story sound even more dramatic? Will Shino ever appear in this fanfiction? Find out, in the next episode of Batman! ...no, wait. wrong show.

anyways, here come the explanations. In this fanfic, Karin never met Sasuke in the chuunin exam and she left Hebi before it was renamed to Taka.

-Kai means release. I don't really know if you can release another person's Henge no Jutsu, but it is a genjutsu and you can release simple genjutsu, right?...right?

-A doujutsu is an eye technique like the Sharingan or the Byakugan

-I didn't make up anything about the six paths of pain. I got it all from Naruto wiki :D

Enjoy!


	3. Tactics for Romance and Co

Chapter 3.: Tactics for Romace and Co.

It was the tenth of October and Naruto was now officially twenty-nine years old. He was walking down the streets after having turned in a report on the Genin test of the day before at the Hokage's office. Now he was free as a bird, having the rest of the morning and the whole afternoon off. But not the evening. That evening he would have a date- uh, _dinner_ with Hinata at the restaurant she had told him about.

As he strolled down the main street, he noticed a woman with purplish black hair approaching him.

"Hey, have you seen him?" asked Anko.

"Seen who?"

"That pervert Kakashi, of course! I want to burn those books of his." she said, looking around.

"Uh, maybe you should search at his place." answered the blonde. Personally, he would be pleased if the kunoichi accomplished her self-appointed mission.

"That's the problem! The idiot carries those paperback abominations around wherever he goes!" exclaimed the frustrated woman.

"Well, then good luck with your search." and he sneaked away before she could drag him into something that he would regret later.

Thinking about how completely unequipped his wardrobe was for that evening, he decided to go shopping and see if he could find something fitting for a semi formal dinner. Entering the nearest clothing shop, he started his hunt for a nice shirt and, after five minutes, found one that satisfied his unique tastes. Turning around to leave that corner of the shop, he bumped into someone and released his grip on the shirt, watching as it fell to the ground.

"Naruto-sensei, I'm sorry." he didn't even need to look up to know who it was. He recognized in the voice.

"Shizuka! Interesting meeting you here." he greeted her. However, she didn't respond, instead staring at the shirt that was lying on the ground.

"Orange." she finally said.

"Uh, yeah. I'm having dinner with a friend and wanted to buy something for the occasion."

She kept staring at the shirt, "A bright, _glowing_ orange shirt for a date?"

"Yeah, well I don't see anything wrong with the color oran-" he stopped talking when he realized what she had just said. "I...It's not a date! I'm just meeting a friend, that's all!"

"A female friend." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yeah, but...Why am I even telling you all this?"

She just ignored his question, lifting the bright orange monstrosity and throwing it to the side "Naruto-sensei, I may not be extremely interested in fashion, but I'm still a girl. And I know that the thing you wanted to buy would look horrible on anybody." she then proceeded to search for something less...bizarre.

"You know, this is pretty embarrassing. Getting lectured by my own student, I mean." said Naruto, hoping no one was looking in their direction.

"Then you should develop better tastes for clothing." she said as she shoved a shirt in a lighter tone of orange and a partly formal-looking pair of black jeans into his arms. "Here, that should do it." She waited for him to pay and turned to leave, only to be stopped by his overly energetic voice.

"Hey, Shizuka. I guess I should thank you, so I wanted to treat you to some ramen."

"Ramen?" she said suspiciously.

"What, you don't like it?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I've just never tried it before."

The blond man feigned shock, "You have never had ramen?! How sad! Don't worry, I shall cure you of your ignorance! But first I have to drop this off at my house." he said, referring to the newly bought clothes in the bag he was holding, "You coming?"

She hesitated, but then agreed. It was free food, after all, and you did not turn down free food. The walk to his house was plagued with her teacher's one-sided attempt at a conversation, which ended up as a rant about the wonders of ramen. It was unnerving, but he at least could control his seemingly endless supply of energy, unlike a certain teammate of hers.

Suddenly, she saw a head covered in white, spiky hair in the street crowd. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the boy was not alone; he was being accompanied by a girl who was clinging to his arms and laughing about anything he said. For some unknown reason, she felt anger rising inside her.

The blond jincuurki, noticing the sudden change in her mood, followed the direction of her gaze until he spotted the boy. He looked back at the blonde girl, amused by her reaction.

"What, you jealous or something?" he said.

She just looked at him with an incredulous expression, "No. I'm just disgusted by his behavior. He asks some girl out and if it doesn't work, he goes to the next one."

"Just like he asked you out yesterday and now he's with this other girl?" he said, taunting her.

"How did you...oh, forget it."

He chuckled, "If it makes you feel any better, I heard you're the very first girl that has ever rejected him."

As a matter of fact, it did. She felt satisfied, content even. "Yes, it does."

His wry smile turned into a smirk, "Anything for my student."

When they left the bag of clothes at his home, he led her to his favorite food stand_ ever_, as he called it. Upon arriving at Ichiraku, he ordered a beef ramen for himself and a miso ramen for the young girl. Teuchi got to work immediately. He was in a splendid mood today.

"So, tell me what you think." demanded the Jounin.

"Itadakimasu." she said and started eating. "It's a bit too salty."

"Nani?! How can it be too salty! No student of mine may dislike ramen. Especially not _this _ramen. It's delicious. Scratch that, it's _amazing._.." she tuned him out before more of his rant could enter her brain and kept eating her meal. It was good, she just never really liked salty food. When she was finished, she turned her attention back to her instructor, only to find him completely concentrated in eating his fifth bowl. _'How can he eat so much?'_

After he finally finished eating and paid for the food, he turned to look at her, "Hey, kid. How about a game?"

What? "A game?"

"Yeah, you're gonna follow me and play a game."

"And what if I refuse?"

He grinned brightly, "I never gave you an option. I'm your Jounin instructor and you have to do what I say. Plus it's my birthday and you never gave me a present, so you owe me one."

She cursed under her breath, but gave in. "And what kind of game am I supposed to play?"

"That," he said as he stood up and started walking away "you will find out in a moment."

* * *

The pink haired kunoichi was having the time of her life. She had spent the last four hours cleaning up her apartment, and by cleaning up she meant ripping all the drawings and photos of Sasuke from the walls and ceiling and shredding them in thousands of pieces. Not a single picture was shown mercy, as well as her own diary. By now her garbage can was overfilled. Pleased with her handiwork, she lifted the metallic basket off the ground and walked to the door, opening it- and then she jumped back, making some pieces of paper fall onto the floor.

"Lee-san?" she asked. Standing before her was said man wearing a green leotard. One hand was holding a bouquet of flowers while the other was outstretched to the spot where the doorknob had just been. The black haired man had grown in skill, height and maturity in the past few years, but had otherwise not changed at all.

"Sakura-san." he greeted, slightly startled by her change of appearance and high spirits. "I...heard what happened between you and Sasuke-san. I brought you these in the hope that it would cheer you up." he held the flowers up to her, but quickly withdrew his hand when he noticed that hers were already occupied, mentally cursing his lack of observation. "Should I help you with that?"

"Nah, it's ok." she placed the burden on the floor and extended her arm out to the bouquet, which he gladly handed her. "Lee-san, these are beautiful! Thank you." she put them into a vase that was conveniently close to where she stood and grabbed hold of the garbage bin again, "I was just heading to the abandoned house across the street to burn these. Care to join me?" she asked with a smile.

Lee, recognizing the corner of a raven haired head or a part of an onyx eye between all the shredded paper, couldn't help but feel immensely happy at how she was handling the situation. "I'd love to, Sakura-san."

They walked across the street and to a cement house that had clearly been neglected for decades. Upon entering what used to be the entrance hall, Sakura walked directly to the middle and dumped the contents of the garbage can on the floor, forming a pile of paper. She grabbed the only photo that hadn't been ripped apart. She had taken this picture of an unwilling (and probably also unknowing) Sasuke back when they were still at the Academy. She handed Lee the photo, along with a lighter from her kitchen. "Would you do the honors?"

He just nodded and took both items. Letting the picture catch fire, he threw it at the heap of paper, where the flames quickly spread.

A single tear left Sakura's jade eye _'Finally, I'm free.'_ This, however, did not go unnoticed by her companion, who, after a little hesitation and to her utmost surprise, pulled her into an embrace. His body felt warm against hers as her arms dangled to her sides.

"Sakura-san, I know how much it hurts to be rejected by the person you love and I'm so happy to see how you're dealing with it. You are far stronger than I thought."

Although his words were meant to comfort her, they made her realize something. _She _was the one who had taught him the pain of rejection. She was the reason for his suffering, just like Sasuke was the reason for hers. She owed him. And she owed him big time.

As these thoughts swirled through her head, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his torso, hugging him back. "Thank you, Lee-san." she said, feeling a small smile cross her lips. "Thank you for everything."

They remained in that position for a while, perfectly comfortable in each other's arms.

* * *

Shikamaru was holding a little black box in one of his hands, trying to tone down his nervousness. All this waiting for the right moment was killing him.

"Shikamaru, I'm going out with Hinata. I'll be back in a few hours." said a female voice coming from the door to the room he was in. He turned around, carefully hiding the box behind his back, to see a blond woman looking at him.

"Sure, have fun." he said, apparently nonchalantly. But Temari knew better. She knew that the mere fact that he had actually turned around and the love in his eyes meant that he really cared for her. She smiled at him and left.

Right after having been dumped by Ino, Shikamaru had been assigned a long-term mission at Suna. There, he had found a good friend in Temari, which then developed into something more. But even though they wanted to, they couldn't date when both of them lived in two different villages, so, after a long discussion and a short but quite terrifying moment of awaiting the Kazekage's opinion on the subject, they had finally decided that she would move with him to Konoha. He did not regret his decision to this day. He was snatched out of his thoughts when he heard a loud knocking coming from the front door, followed by an equally loud voice he knew perfectly well. "Oi, Shikamaru! Open up!"

The black haired Jounin sighed. This guy never got less troublesome to be around. He stood up and headed towards the door, leaving the small black box on the floor of the room. When he opened the door, he saw two blond heads. One was his oh so obnoxious friend. The other one belonged to a young girl he didn't recognize.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I was hoping you had some free time. You see, I'd like you to play a few rounds of chess with my little student here." said Naruto, placing a hand on the seemingly annoyed girl's head.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't question his request. He knew that the man in front of him was known to always have a reason behind his actions, even if it wasn't discernible at first glance. He wanted to say no. Badly. But he owed the guy and it was his birthday. The least he could do was doing him this favor. "Only two rounds." he said and led them to a room a bit further in the house. There was no furniture except for a low, square table in the middle of the room with two cushions on both sides. On the corner was a stack of boxes with different board games. This was where he had spent most of his free time before his father had died.

He motioned the girl to sit down on one of the pillows while he went to the corner and took a box from under three other boxes. Walking back, he sat down and placed the game board on the table. As he started placing the pieces on their correspondent positions, curiosity overtook him, "Since your teacher doesn't seem to think that introductions are important, I might as well do it myself. I'm Nara Shikamaru. What's your name?"

"Nii Shizuka."

His hand, which was currently holding a white tower, paused for a moment, but the continued moving. Nii. He knew that name. This was Nii Yugito's daughter, the jinchuuriki of the Nibi. Now he understood why she had been placed under Naruto's care. "And can you tell me why he brought you here?"

"I have no idea. I didn't even know I would be playing chess."

He sighed for the second time that day. That was so like Naruto.

The match started. At first they only used the most basic strategies, but as the game went on, both of them started using more complex schemes to try and win the upper hand. Most of the time, it seemed that Shikamaru was winning, but every now and then she would gain territory through distractions or sacrifices and even managed to turn some of his own strategies against him. She was good. However, he didn't have any doubts about his victory. He was just playing with her, seeing what she could do. After around an hour of this, he decided to finish the first match and capture her king.

He looked to his left and saw that, surprisingly enough, Naruto hadn't moved an inch, nor had he fallen asleep out of utter boredom. Instead, he was looking intently at the board. He was really taking this seriously. The black haired man turned back to his opponent.

"Do you want to have a short pause or would you prefer to start the second match right away?" he asked.

"I'd like to start right now, if it's not a problem." she replied and he started reorganizing the pieces.

The second match was much harder than the first. She had memorized the patterns in his strategies and was using them against him, adapting her own plans to counter his. Her schemes became more unpredictable and harder to counter. This girl was actually pushing him. Still, she had a long way to go. After his first two attempts at a check mate were neutralized, he finally did the finishing move and ended the game. Looking up at the clock on the wall, he realized that this match had taken a bit more than two hours. He was impressed.

Naruto stood up and addressed his student, "Shizuka, would you put the game back where it belongs while I go have a talk with my old friend?"

"Yes, Naruto-sensei." she said and started collecting the game pieces. Shikamaru, taking the hint, followed the man out of the room and opened the door to the next room.

"So, what do you think?" said the blonde as he sat down on a couch.

He knew exactly what he meant, "She's impressive. The girl isn't the smartest person I've met, but she certainly has a talent for tactics. I'd even go as far as saying that she's a strategic genius. She adapts quite fast and uses every bit of knowledge at her disposal to her own advantage. Now, the question is, when did _you_ realize it?"

"Yesterday in the Genin exam. The kids managed to trick me and I found out later that she had been the one that thought of the plan. I wanted to see how much potential she has. Though the fact that I met her this morning was purely coincidental."

"But you know, tricking you isn't really that hard." a sly smile crossed his face while he dodged a playful punch, courtesy of Naruto, "Fine, fine, I'll stop with the insults. But tell me, are the other two as interesting as she is?"

At this, the always cheerful blonde smirked, "You have no idea." ha said, then changed the subject "Hey, you also have a Genin team, don't you? I heard you got Sarutobi Hana. How is she?"

Shikamaru smiled, "She's smart like her mother and strong like her father. She'll make a great shinobi. Though Kurenai told me that she's been meeting some red haired kid lately."

"Ugh, you mean a hyperactive redhead of around the same age as her?"

"She said something of the sort. Why? Do you know him?"

"Sadly, I do." he said, a vein popping on his head at the memories that were going through his head. "So, how's it going between you and Temari? You said you wanted to propose to her soon, right? When are you going to buy the ring?"

The tactician tried to suppress a slight blush, unsuccessfully. He didn't say anything.

Naruto just looked at him for a minute- and started laughing. "You already have the ring, don't you?" again nothing, "Well, for Temari and your own well-being, I hope you do it soon." before he could say anything else, Shizuka appeared on the door. "Finished already? Ok, guess I gotta go. It was nice seeing you, Shikamaru."

"Wait, before I forget, Chouji wanted me to distribute the invitations to his wedding, so I might as well give you yours now." he said as he started looking for the envelope with the right name.

"Oh, ok." well, that explained Teuchi's great mood, "When will it take place?"

"In a few days."

"Nani?! Why so soon?"

"Don't ask me. Apparently they wanted to marry as soon as possible." he replied, finally handing him the envelope with his name on it.

Naruto chuckled, "Well, I just hope it all goes as planned."

"That makes two of us."

"Ok, thanks and good bye, Shikamaru" he left the house, followed by the young girl.

As they walked down the road, the blond man noticed the girl staring at the envelope in his hand, or more like staring at the name written on the envelope.

"You're wondering why I was named 'fishcake', aren't you?" she looked up, surprised. He had seen right through her. Naruto gave her his usual fox-like grin. "Don't worry. I'll tell you. It's a nice story, really." he smiled at nothing in particular while he remembered the story of his name.

"One of my teachers once wrote a book in which he recited many of his adventures. But because he wanted it to be a novel and not some sort of autobiography, he thought of the name Naruto for the main character while he was eating ramen." he snickered, picturing the Sannin eating and writing at the same time, "My father, who was also one of his students, read the book and said that he wanted his son to be like the main character, and thus, named me after him. At that time I was still in my mother's belly. Now, let's make this fair trade. Why were you named 'quiet child'?"

At this, she looked down, not wanting him to see her face, but complied, "The man who raised me wanted me to be a quiet and obedient girl who would do anything he wanted. That's why he gave me the name 'Shizuka'." Naruto nodded. He knew that man. It was Uchiha Obito, who had managed to escape after the war, taking the kidnapped daughter of Nii Yugito with him. Seven years ago, the had finally succeeded in finding and killing him and had taken the girl in. She was given a home and permission to attend the Ninja Academy. His thoughts were interrupted when she kept speaking. "He only saw me as a weapon, a tool with which he could accomplish his goals. After a while, I finally accepted it as my destiny to be seen only as a weapon. It's a destiny I can't escape."

He frowned, "But you don't believe that anymore, do you? I mean, you were freed from hm years ago."

"And now I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure." she replied.

Naruto couldn't take this. It reminded him too much of an old friend. "Shizuka, we should sit down." he said, pointing at a bench that stood on the side of the street, in front of a few bushes. She looked puzzled but did as she was told. "I'll tell you a story. There were once two ninja. One of them was considered a genius. He was very skilled and possessed a powerful bloodline. The other one was called dead-last by others. He didn't have any special abilities or talents, but he burned with the determination to win at all costs. They were then pitted against each other in a battle. Now, who do you think won that battle?"

"The genius, of course." she said, matter-of-factly.

"That's where you're wrong. _I_ won that battle." he chuckled as he watched how realization dawned on her, "His name was Hyuuga Neji and he was indeed worthy of the title of genius. But he was born in the branch family of the clan and harbored a great hatred toward the main family because of how they treated them. He believed that being regarded lowly despite his great talent was part of his inescapable fate. When we fought, he mocked my dream of becoming Hokage, saying that I would never be able to defeat him, let alone achieve such a high rank, but I wanted to prove him wrong. I won that battle, even though my fate was defeat. I defied destiny. From then on, Neji teamed up with the clan heir and they fought for years to change the relationships between the main and branch families for the better. He died protecting that heir and believing that she would finish what they had started. Nowadays the relations in the Hyuuga clan are a lot better than what they used to be."

He paused to see how she was handling the information, but at seeing her deep in thought, he kept on talking, "You see Shizuka, destiny isn't a chain of events that are bound to happen. Destiny is our future, and you can't see your future until it's right in front of your nose, but you can influence it, shape it and make it yours."

The young ninja thought hard about what her instructor had just told her. If that Neji could do it, then so could she. She didn't have to live as a mere weapon. She could be free. She could have dreams and follow them to the end of the world. All this time, she had caged herself up in her beliefs of fate and destiny. Suddenly, she felt something strange stirring inside her. It was an emotion she had felt only once before, when she had been freed of Obito. It was the feeling she loved the most.

It was happiness.

Her lips curved into a small, almost invisible smile, which surprised Naruto, since it was the first time he had ever seen her smile. When he thought about it, it was pretty sad. She suddenly stood up from the bench and bowed to him, "Arigatou gozaimasu, Naruto-sensei. You have helped me a lot."

He smiled warmly, glad he could help. "Ok, guys. I know you're there. Come out before I have drag you out." nothing happened and Shizuka looked at him, puzzled. He sighed, "I warned you." Then, he grabbed two stones from the ground and threw them at the bushes behind the bench.

"Itai!" said a voice coming from a bush, which left him unusually satisfied. Two boys dragged themselves out of the greenery, holding their heads where the stones had hit them.

"Yuki! Itachi! What were you doing there?" asked a surprised Shizuka

"Obviously, they were spying on us, or at least trying to." he said, directing a stern look at the two Genin, "When someone wants to spy on somebody else, they at least try to mask their presence and not get noticed. It's ninja basics and you completely failed at it!" he said disapprovingly.

"Wait, you knew they were following us?" asked the girl.

"Of course I did. The little womanizer here started tailing us when you first noticed him in the streets and the energy ball followed suit when we left the ramen stand. He probably was at a dumpling stand and picked up our chackra signature from there."

Itachi grinned sheepishly. He had hit right on the spot. His grin soon vanished when he was hit on the head yet again, but this time by his female teammate. "How dare you? I'm gonna rip you guys apart limb by limb!" she yelled at them as they fled and she followed in hot pursuit.

Naruto blinked and sweatdropped. Where was the nearly emotionless girl he had spent the whole afternoon with? _'I guess hope really does change people.'_ he thought as he headed home.

* * *

It was a quarter past eight and Naruto was late for his dat- ahem, _friendly meeting_ with Hinata. When he finally arrived in front of the restaurant, he saw her and immediately started apologizing, "Hinata-chan. Sorry I'm-" he stopped talking when he actually looked at her. "...late." She was wearing a strapless, dark blue dress that accentuated her figure and flowed down to her knees with matching shoes, not high heels. God, how she hated high heels. She hadn't put her hair up, instead choosing to let cascade naturally down to her lower back. All in all, she looked stunning. No, more like _breathtaking._

It took him a moment to recover from the sight.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. I just arrived here myself. Plus, it's your birthday we're celebrating today, so you don't have to worry if you're a few minutes late." she smiled sweetly at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in." he said and led her inside the restaurant, where they were then led to their table by a waiter. It was perfect, not in the middle of the gigantic hall but in a secluded corner where they could talk in peace without having to scream over the noise of the other costumers.

They looked inside their menus and quickly chose the dishes that they would eat. A waiter then took their orders, said that they would be prepared immediately and left.

"So, already twenty-nine, huh?"said Hinata, trying to start a conversation, "Time flies by so fast. One more year and you'll be thirty."

"No, ain't happening."

She looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't want to grow up."

She stifled a giggle, "You can't stop growing older just because you don't want to, Naruto-kun."

"Oh yes, yes I can. Next year I'll turn twenty-nine-a, the year after that I'll be twenty-nine-b, the year after _that_ I'll turn twenty-nine-c and so on." he said.

This time she couldn't suppress it and started giggling uncontrollably for a few minutes. When she finally calmed down she questioned his theory, "And what happens when you turn twenty-nine-z?"

He grinned brightly, "Then I'll finally admit that I'm thirty." This earned him another, slightly shorter fit of giggles from the woman. "What about you? How's life at the Hyuuga manor?" he asked.

She turned serious, "Some members of the main family are still a bit too hardheaded to stop treating the branch family like servants, but Hanabi and I are managing well to intervene before they do something stupid."

"That's good to hear. And what about the cursed seal? Didn't you say that you wanted to do something about it?"

Her face brightened, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I've finally managed to convince my father to break the tradition of the cursed seal. Although I couldn't manage to make him completely get rid of it. It will be replaced by a small, permanent marking on the left shoulder. The seal itself will only be used on traitors and such from now on."

He smiled, "That's great, Hinata-chan! I'm happy for you."

Their conversation was interrupted by a waiter bringing the food they had ordered. They ate in silence, an unusual sight for the hyperactive blonde. Naruto finished before Hinata, but was content to just observe her until she finished. Her fair skin contrasted against her bluish black hair that seemed shine like moonlight and matched her dress perfectly. Her pearly white eyes reflected the golden lights of the restaurant, making them look as if they were emitting an amber glow.

She was truly beautiful.

He recognized the turmoil of emotions he was feeling. He had felt the same oh so long ago when he had still fancied Sakura, only this time they were much stronger. This wasn't just some long lasting crush on a girl. No, this went deeper than that. Naruto was falling in love, slowly but surely.

Over the past years, he had felt less attracted to the woman with the bubblegum hair and had started to see her only as a close friend. At the same time that this process took place, he had also been getting a lot more nervous around Hinata, always thinking about her and feeling extremely happy when she was around. Not only that, but he had also recognized her attitude toward him. He knew she liked him, yet he couldn't bring himself to take the first step.

When she fished eating, they filled the time with some smalltalk, talking about the most random subjects that came to mind. When they saw that it was getting late, they paid, left the restaurant and headed towards Hinata's home. Their walk there was quiet, as they both simply enjoyed each other's company.

Arriving at the main entrance of the Hyuuga compound, they looked at each other. He couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from her eyes, those eyes he had found eerie at first, but now fascinated him. Finally, she spoke, "Happy birthday, Naruto-kun." she said and kissed him on the cheek. She entered the private propriety, closing the door behind her and leaving a dazed Naruto behind. He just stood there for almost ten minutes, but then left, feeling nothing but pure bliss.

* * *

Author's note:

Yay! NaruHina action for everyone! whooo! Nah, jk

(bows to the people that are actually following this story) Arigatou gozaimasu! I'm so happy! And also so sorry that it's so late. I spent a few days writing this chapter but forgot to save it. Then my computer froze and I had to start from scratch. D:

Oh, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but whoever has read all three chapters and still doesn't know who Yuki's dad is, is a complete idiot! :P

Enjoy the extra long chapter!


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